Dipaneeta Das
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered Trinamool Congress MP and the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to comply with the summons issued by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in the alleged ‘forged signature’ case.
The court has also observed that the “the investigating agency shall not take any coercive steps for 2 weeks . If further interrogation is required the investigating agency will give 24 hour notice.” The order added, “This court is of the view that for securing the documents the investigation agency is at liberty to do search and seizure as per law… this court the petitioner shall appear before the agency today by 6 pm,” it mentioned.
“The petitioner shall cooperate with the agency the agency is at liberty to interrogate him,” the observation added.
The matter has been listed after two weeks.
Meanwhile, TMC MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee has publicly distanced himself from the legal battle involving party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, questioning why the party should be drawn into what he described as an individual's case.
The controversy erupted after senior advocate and Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee reacted to the developments surrounding Abhishek Banerjee's petition before the Calcutta High Court in connection with the CID investigation into the alleged signature-forgery case. While the party leadership has sought to project unity amid mounting political challenges, Kalyan's comments suggested a clear distinction between the legal troubles faced by individual leaders and the organisational interests of the party.
Speaking to reporters, Kalyan Banerjee reportedly questioned the necessity of the Trinamool Congress becoming involved in the court proceedings.
"Why should the party fight his case?" he asked, indicating that the matter concerned Abhishek Banerjee in his personal capacity rather than the party as an institution.
This is a developing case. More updates will be added soon
